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tremble

 - 3 dictionary results

trem⋅ble

  [trem-buhl] verb, -bled, -bling, noun
Use tremble in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to shake involuntarily with quick, short movements, as from fear, excitement, weakness, or cold; quake; quiver.
2. to be troubled with fear or apprehension.
3. (of things) to be affected with vibratory motion.
4. to be tremulous, as light or sound: His voice trembled.
–noun
5. the act of trembling.
6. a state or fit of trembling.
7. trembles, (used with a singular verb)
a. Pathology. milk sickness.
b. Veterinary Pathology. a toxic condition of cattle and sheep caused by the eating of white snakeroot and characterized by muscular tremors.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME trem(b)len (v.) < OF trembler < VL *tremulāre, deriv. of L tremulus tremulous

Related forms:
trem⋅bling⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. shudder. See shake. 3. oscillate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tremble
trem·ble   (trěm'bəl)   
intr.v.   trem·bled, trem·bling, trem·bles

  1. To shake involuntarily, as from excitement or anger; quake. See Synonyms at shake.

  2. To feel fear or anxiety: I tremble at the very thought of it.

  3. To vibrate or quiver: leaves trembling in the breeze.

n.  

  1. The act or state of trembling.

  2. A convulsive fit of shaking. Often used in the plural with the.

  3. trembles (used with a sing. verb)

    1. An infectious viral disease of sheep that is transmitted by the tick Ixodes ricinus and affects the nervous system, causing galloping and trotting by little leaps and often prolonged trembling. Also called louping ill.

    2. Poisoning of domestic animals, especially cattle and sheep, caused by eating white snakeroot or rayless goldenrod and characterized by muscular tremors and weakening. Also called milk sickness.


[Middle English tremblen, from Old French trembler, from Vulgar Latin *tremulāre, from Latin tremulus, trembling; see tremulous.]
trem'bler n., trem'bling·ly adv., trem'bly adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

tremble  (v.)
1303, "shake from fear, cold, etc.," from O.Fr. trembler "tremble, fear" (11c.), from V.L. *tremulare (cf. It. tremolare, Sp. temblar), from L. tremulus "trembling, tremulous," from tremere "to tremble, shiver, quake," from PIE *trem- "to tremble" (cf. Gk. tremein "to shiver, tremble," Lith. trimu "to chase away," O.C.S. treso "to shake," Goth. þramstei "grasshopper"). The noun is recorded from 1609.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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